Swear words not only sound offensive, they also seem to nudge our productivity. This is the conclusion reached by a team led by Richard Stephens from Keele University in Newcastle. If subjects fled during a fitness session, they lasted longer. A total of 174 volunteers worked out in two experiments. You should utter either an expletive or a neutral word for ten seconds before each exercise. Some of them were given both the swear word (“fuck”) and a neutral term, while the others were allowed to choose both themselves.
The phenomenon has been known for a long time, but now the experts have found a new explanation. Only those participants who were amused by the repeated cursing made the swear words stronger. “We have shown several possible psychological ways in which this can happen. All are related to a decrease in self-control or letting go,” Stephens said. But humor, the funny side of swearing, turned out to be the most important factor.
Actually, the so-called “behavioural inhibition” (in German: behavioral inhibition) ensures that you refrain from certain behaviors as soon as they become uncomfortable – such as a strenuous sports program. Psychologists suspect that cheerfulness deactivates this brake in the brain and thus helps us to overcome our pain threshold. So the next time you slip out a swear word at the gym, you have a good excuse ready: “Swearing helps, it’s scientifically proven!”